NFL lost their One Entity lawsuit that started with American Needle. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 against NFL!

This means NFL teams will be able to sign contracts within anyone they want. 2ksports could sign each NFL team and players to contract for their football game! Great day the NFL and their monopoly days are over!

The high court reversed a lower court ruling throwing out an antitrust suit brought against the league by one of its former hat makers, who was upset that it lost its contract for making official NFL hats to Reebok International Ltd.

American Needle, Inc. sued, claiming the league violated antitrust law because all 32 teams worked together to freeze it out of the NFL-licensed hatmaking business and gave Reebok an exclusive 10-year license.

The company lost and appealed to the Supreme Court but the NFL did as well, hoping to get broader protection from antitrust lawsuits.

American Needle's antitrust lawsuit now heads back to the lower court. The NFL said in a statement released after the ruling Monday that it was confident it would ultimately be victorious.

In its statement, the NFL noted that the Supreme Court's decision only pertained to merchandise and didn't affect "collective bargaining, which is governed by labor law."

"In today's decision, the Supreme Court recognized that 'special characteristics' of professional sports leagues, including the need for competitive balance, 'may well justify' business decisions that among independent competitors would otherwise be unlawful. The court noted that the NFL teams' shared interest in making the league successful and cooperating to produce NFL football provide 'a perfectly sensible justification for making a host of collective decisions,'" the NFL said.

The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 against the NFL.

This gives the class action lawsuit against the NFL over Madden some backup.

Hagens Berman filed a class-action lawsuit against Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) claiming the company engaged in unlawful and anticompetitive agreements that nearly doubled the price of its popular game, Madden NFL.

The lawsuit alleges EA established agreements with the National Football League (NFL), The NFL Players Union, Arena Football League and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), that drove competition out of the market and prevented new competitors from entering.

The agreements resulted in the company's flagship product, Madden NFL, to increase 70 percent from $29.99 to $49.99, the suit states.

Anyone who purchased Madden NFL from August 2005 through present can participate in this suit. You can also contact attorneys at maddenNFL@hbsslaw.com or call (206) 623-7292.

The judge ruled four counts against the gaming company can move forward including violation of the Sherman Act, violations of California's Cartwright Act, violation of California's unfair competition act and unjust enrichment.

Also this will effect the NFL exclusive DirectTV contract. Others can sign individual teams to their packages. So I could get all the Colts and 49ers games and not worry about the others. This is huge if I were 2ksports I would start calling teams today.

whoa whoa whoa, y'all aren't just pulling my leg or over hyping this shit are ya? You're telling me that there is no excuse for me to not be able to get NFL Prime Ticket on a service provider other then direct TV, and that EA no longer has the iron grip of death on NFL!? (sorry, not sleeping again, eyes bugging out, couldn't read all the mumbo)

whoa whoa whoa, y'all aren't just pulling my leg or over hyping this shit are ya? You're telling me that there is no excuse for me to not be able to get NFL Prime Ticket on a service provider other then direct TV, and that EA no longer has the iron grip of death on NFL!? (sorry, not sleeping again, eyes bugging out, couldn't read all the mumbo)

I'm right there with ya! Bring back 2K! And to hell with Direct TV and their $300 NFL package!

Seriously, I was spending so much money going to the bars just so I could watch the Raider games. Stupid Time Warner. They probably still won't pick up any kind of NFL package though. I'm still screwed. Heck, maybe the Raiders will just do good so CBS will broadcast all of their games...

YES! The monopoly is over! It is about time someone did something to stand up to EA and their dubious practices. Although the NFL is even more corrupt. Maybe now EA will have to IMPORVE their shitty game engine or maybe a competiter will do it for them!

Heck, maybe the Raiders will just do good so CBS will broadcast all of their games...

Pass me a hit of that!

Hey man we won 5 games last year, and CBS aired 2! (That I know of) We made a lot of moves in the draft that were actually smart (for once) and who knows Al Davis just might die this year!

Experts on NFL.com are expecting the Raiders to be "VERY COMPETITIVE" next season due to the draft and what is being descibed as possible breakout years for McFadden and Hayward-Bey (yes, you read that right)